went out in next doors new toy

[geesus69]

the thread about the ariel atom got me thinking about this

last weekend was over at the gf's parents house, the guy next door has a thing for cars, has helped me do some work on the clio in the past

he currently has an mgb midget, a spartan kit car (both of which he bought in pretty good nick, has just tarted them up a bit) and his new purchase which is a sylva striker (think thats right)

i will get some pics next time i'm round there, but its basically a caterham type thing, with some funky suspension setup and an escort rst lump with T3 turbo (forgive me if this isnt right, im not clued up on ford lumps)

now he says its got 218bhp and weighs about 500kg ish, so somewhere around 400bhp per ton

he took me out for a spin, and although it's good fun, it didn't impress me like i thought it would. i was expecting some crazy acceleration, like the stuff where it hurts your neck, but it didnt deliver. and then theres the handling, the boost seems to ruin it, like you cant tell when its going to throw the power at you, and if you go over any sort of bump when on the gas it will try and throw you sideways in a big way!

he is planning to do trackdays in it, where the worry of bumps in the road is reduced, so we will see how well it can perform. but really i think it has the wrong engine/chassis combination!

surely a car that light you want predictable, controllable power right through the rev range, not oodles of boost all at once?

also it was alot like fred described a car the other day, no power no power no power BOOOOOOST change gear no power no power BOOOOOST change gear

i get the feeling he is going to be changing gear quite alot on track lol

anyone got any experiences with lightweight caterham-esque cars and turbo'd engines?

 

[Englebert]

With respect to your neighbour, they are very budget cars and that tends to show in the suspension setup. Most parts are from old Fords (Sierra/Escort) as with the engine.

Sounds like he wants a smaller turbo and a proper mapping sessions, as like you say, battling with lag is not great (or fun) for the track.

Take a look at this old one LOL
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/915068.htm

 

[geesus69]

hi englebert

it has bespoke (think thats the term) suspension, so no suspension parts are nicked from donor cars, the front and rear coilover units are laid at an angle, within the chassis, sort of like a formula 1 type arrangement

he says this gives it better handling and more suspension travel, i was thinking 'jesus christ if this is the better setup i dread to think what the other one is like!'

 

[geesus69]

like this on the front

 

[jayxx83]

not a relaxing drive then i take it. i agree driveability is the order of the day... not just max power outputs. looks mucho fun though.

 

[cat171]

If he's running an erst engine with that bhp it's not running standard boost at all, standard boost is about 5psi. One of my mates was running 20psi, but it didn't hold it at all (his erst was a right mess tbh)

What's the engine had done to it ?? An erst is 132bhp stock. With regards to the turbo iirc they ran T3's from the factory.

 

[Englebert]

Normally it would be the rear axle taken from the Sierra. The front is rose jointed, best for track but awful on the road where you do without any bushings as you can see!

 

[geesus69]

If he's running an erst engine with that bhp it's not running standard boost at all, standard boost is about 5psi. One of my mates was running 20psi, but it didn't hold it at all (his erst was a right mess tbh)

What's the engine had done to it ?? An erst is 132bhp stock. With regards to the turbo iirc they ran T3's from the factory.

yeh this is it, i find the bhp figures rather dubious! he said something about an uprated turbo and it being chipped

not a relaxing drive then i take it. i agree driveability is the order of the day... not just max power outputs. looks mucho fun though.

not relaxing no, i dont mind cars being a bit 'skitty' but when you cant even put the power down without knowing what bumps are in the road.....fail!

Normally it would be the rear axle taken from the Sierra. The front is rose jointed, best for track but awful on the road where you do without any bushings as you can see!

i will have to ask him about that, he said it has an LSD, but to be fair when it started going he backed off the power in a big way, so clearly not doing a great deal lol

literally one bump in the road would have it sideways, and then he would have to back off as it wouldnt straighten up again. its got a quick rack aswell, which must help controlling the oversteer?